Free Fire for Android
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Gameplay
Free Fire is played in third person perspective. As in other shooting games, the player can move their character using a joystick and shoot and throw items with the fire button. In-game characters can jump, crawl, and lie down. When on the battlefield, players can use a grenade called a "Gloo Wall" as a cover to avoid damage.[11]
Game modes
Battle Royale mode lets a maximum of 52 players land on a random island without weapons. All of them have to survive by eliminating each other using weapons and accessories that are found in the buildings. Players have the option to play this mode solo, or in a team of 2 or 4 players. If players play this mode ranked, it will have an impact on their rank. Whereas Classic mode is just for fun and practice. There are six Battle Royale maps in Free Fire they are Bermuda, Bermuda Remastered, Kalahari, Purgatory, Alpine, and NeXTerra
Clash Squad is a 4 VS 4 mode. In this mode, players use in-game money to buy weapons and other items from a shop during preparation time, and then fight against the opponent team. As a mode, games last from four to seven rounds. A round is won when all 4 players of one team are eliminated, either by the other team or by environmental damage. As of 2022 the game uses the same maps as the Battle Royale mode. Clash Squad can be played both as Ranked and Classic.
Lone Wolf is either a 1 vs 1 or "duo" (2 vs 2) version of Clash Squad mode with more complex rules. Each side will have chances to choose equipment to be used in next 2 rounds. Rounds are played best-of-5. If both sides have won 4 rounds each, then final round will begin with both sides free to choose weapon of their choice. All players acquire basic items like vest and helmet by default from the start of the round. This mode takes place in its own map called "Iron Dome".
Premise
Free Fire's premise is detailed in animated shorts and other materials published by Garena to promote the game. Free Fire Universe is the official universe where Free Fire game, comics and stories (Free Fire Tales) take place. Each Free Fire character has a different story and a family background and characters are connected to each other from the stories in Free Fire Universe. There are three cities in the universe called LA LUNA, GRIZA, and NEW DAWN where each character lives. Free Fire characters are divided into two fractions the HORIZON and the MAMBAS, the HORIZON is the ruling fraction of the city where the rich and powerful people are while the MAMBAS are a liberation group against the HORIZON.[29] In 2022 Free Fire released the first short film of Free Fire Universe "How to Start a Fire" which featured one of the Free Fire characters Hayato Yagami. [30][31]
Reception
The graphics were described as having "a benefit for mid- and low-specification phones", but a reviewer stated that "if games with good graphics are your thing then we don't recommend that you play Free Fire Battlegrounds. But if you like battle royale games and want to have fun with your friends, you should definitely play."[32]
Tais Carvalho of Techtudo commented that Free Fire "prioritizes performance, making it a great choice for any type of device. The gameplay stands out and has enough content to entertain and offer rewarding combat." Regarding the progression of characters and skills, she said it is "a flashy add-on".[33]
In the Google Play annual list of "Best Apps of the Year", Free Fire won in the "Best Popular Vote Game" category of 2019, being the most publicly voted in Brazil and in Thailand.[34][35]
Garena Free Fire is one of the most popular battle royale mobile games, behind PUBG Mobile, Fortnite Battle Royale and Call of Duty: Mobile. It is particularly popular in Latin America, India and Southeast Asia.[36] Free Fire was the fourth most downloaded game on the Google Play Store in the fourth quarter of 2018,[37] and was the fourth most downloaded game worldwide in 2018 on iOS and the Google Play Store together.[38] The title earned approximately 182 million downloads in 2018, making it the second most downloaded battle royale mobile game (above Fortnite Battle Royale and behind only PUBG Mobile),[39] and grossed approximately $19.3 million in monthly revenues through December 2018, becoming a significant financial success for Garena.[40][41] As of August 2021, Garena Free Fire has more than one billion downloads on the Google Play Store.[42][43]
At the end of Q1 2021, Free Fire surpassed PUBG Mobile in revenues in the United States, generating $100 million in turnover as compared to PUBG Mobile's $68 million.[44] Free Fire's revenues jumped by 4.5 times as compared to the same period for the previous year.[45]
By November 2019, Free Fire had grossed over $1 billion worldwide.[46][47] It went on to become the fourth highest-grossing video game of 2020 with $2.13 billion,[48] and then the eighth highest-grossing mobile game of 2021 with $1.2 billion,[49] for a total of at least $4.33 billion grossed as of 2021.
In 2020 and 2021 Free Fire won the Esports Mobile Game of the Year award at the Esports Awards.[50]
Esports
Free Fire World Series
Free Fire began the Free Fire World Series (FFWS) esports competition in 2019. In 2020, FFWS was replaced by a series of regional events, the "Free Fire Continental Series" (FFCS), due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[51][52] In February 2021, Garena announced the Free Fire World Series (FFWS) with a $2 million prize pool.[53]
In 2021, the Free Fire World Series became the most-watched esports event in history with over 5.4 million peak live viewers, surpassing the League of Legends World Championship which had 5.1 million peak viewers.[54][55][56]
Regional events
The "EMEA Invitational" was a replacement for the Free Fire World Series in 2021 for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This championship featured a total of 12 teams. With a prize pool of USD 200,000.[57]
The Free Fire Asia Championship was a replacement for the Free Fire World Series in 2021 for Asia. This championship featured a total of 31 teams from Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, India, Taiwan, Pakistan, and MCP (Malaysia, Cambodia, and Pakistan). The teams compete for a prize pool of USD 400,000.[58]
The Liga Brasileira de Free Fire (LBFF) is the main Free Fire esports event in Brazil. Comprising 3 divisions, Series A, B, and C, it is played in two stages a year, with the elite qualifying for the Free Fire World Series.[59]
Controversies
In January 2022, PUBG developer Krafton filed a lawsuit against Garena and its parent company Sea for copyright infringement. The lawsuit accused Garena of copying In-game items, Game mechanics and overall look and feel of PUBG: Battlegrounds and PUBG Mobile in their games Garena Free Fire and Free Fire Max. According to Krafton, "Free Fire and Free Fire Max extensively copy numerous aspects of Battlegrounds, both individually and in combination, including Battlegrounds' copyrighted unique game opening 'air drop' feature, the game structure and play, the combination and selection of weapons, armor, and unique objects, locations, and the overall choice of color schemes, materials, and textures."[60]
On February 14, 2022, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India banned Garena Free Fire along with 53 other apps which posed a threat to India's privacy and security[61][62] under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, Constitution of India
